Overstock does nearly $1 million in Bitcoin sales in first month

Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne is no stranger to being an early adopter of technology. He was among the first to purchase to one of Tesla’s Model S electric cards five years ago and apparently, some things never change. As you may recall, Byrne’s company recently became the first major online retailer to accept Bitcoins.

According to Byrne, the site processed $870,000 in sales from almost 4,000 orders paid with Bitcoin. Strangely enough, the most popular item among virtual currency aficionados is bed sheets followed by computer hardware and mobile phone accessories.

Of course, becoming the first major retailer to accept Bitcoin was no easy task. Payment processor Coinbase flew an employee out to Salt Lake City to help work with Overstock to make it a reality. They basically locked 40 people in a room for a week to work out the kinks as becoming the first was bound to deliver a ton of positive press and business.

But Byrne’s interest in Bitcoin extends well past an extra payment method for Overstock. The CEO liquidated several million dollars worth of his holdings in gold and converted it to Bitcoin. He said he ultimately wants to be able to pay vendors and employees in Bitcoin too if they choose. But why is he doing all of this?